Make Creamy Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient

Recently I can across this great cheat for making creamy ice cream from just one ingredient. It may sound impossible and too simple to be true – especially since you don’t even need an ice maker for it. But with this one ingredient and the magic of your freezer, you can.

What is this one ingredient? Bananas. By simply freezing and pureeing them, they transform into ice cream. Unlike other frozen fruit that becomes flaky or icy, if you freeze a banana until solid, then whiz it up in a blender or food processor, it gets creamy and a little gooey, just like custard ice cream. The reason is thanks to its high pectin content. Apparently this little trick is well known in many healthy food circles and is ideal for all those vegan, gluten-free, dairy-allergic, and no-added-sugar diets.

Give it a try yourself…

One-Ingredient Banana Ice CreamServes 2. Makes about 1 cup.

1 large ripe banana

Starting with ripe bananas that are sweet and soft, peel and cut them into even and somewhat small coins.

Put the banana pieces in an airtight container – a freezer-safe glass or plastic container or freezer bag – and freeze for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.

Pulse the frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or powerful blender. (A small food processor or chopper works best.) Blend until the banana looks crumbly or smashed. Scrape down the food processor. Blend again until it looks gooey like banana mush. Scrape down the food processor. Blend again until it looks like oatmeal with most looking smooth but with a few banana chucks still. Scrape down the food processor. As the last bits of banana smooth out, you’ll see the mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. (If adding any mix-ins, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, stir them in.)

Eat immediately if you like soft ice cream or transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid so it becomes like traditional ice cream.

This recipe was adapted from the Kitchn and below are their tips and tricks to make it even more delicious.

Mix-In Ideas
While the one-ingredient aspect of this ice cream is a big part of its charm, we don’t think that loses much when it becomes two or even three ingredient ice cream. Here are a few favorite mix-ins to make it even more awesome.

Recent Posts

About Cooking Cheat

When I cook I can't help myself, I cheat all the time. I cheat to save time. I cheat to save money. I cheat to maximize the flavor.
Cheats are the shortcuts you can use to help get a meal on the table.